Tracy's Treasures
Art jewelry designs by Tracy Burlison

About The Artist

Tracy grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, a small Midwestern farming community. She spent much of her time outdoors exploring her environment. From an early age, she collected interesting rocks, fossils and minerals.

"I remember spending a lot of time in our gravel driveway picking out pyrite and crinoid stems (an ancient fossilized coral). I don't know why I was so fascinated, but I remember always wanting to find gold," she said.

Even though all she ever found was fool's gold, she still struck it rich in way, fostering a deep love for unique stones.

Tracy incorporates semiprecious stones and fossils into her sterling silver jewelry, hand picking each and every one of them.

She said it's actually hard for her to sell her custom pieces, that she wants to keep them and wear them herself.

"I get attached; there's an emotional investment there. There's a little bit of me in each piece I create. And I don't make anything that I wouldn't wear myself," she said. "I only hope that I've created something beautiful and fun and that that will be shared with the wearer somehow."

My sincerest wish is that you enjoy your new jewelry as much as I've enjoyed making it for you,
Tracy

Personal Style

Tracy's personal style is extremely eclectic and she'll mix and match what she wears. "Wear gold and silver; plastic and stone. Who cares if it makes you feel happy?" She collects vintage jewelry and wears many of the pieces along with her own designs.

Some of favorite items to collect are Mexican sterling silver, Victorian and Art Nouveau jewelry. "I'm always curious to see how other craftsmen have solved certain problems - how did they create a catch or set an odd stone? Lots of the Victorian jewelry is so tiny. I have no idea how they could do it by hand."

Hooked on Metals

She has been silversmithing since 2006. She said it was one of the things she had always wanted to try and was immediately hooked. "My husband's been very supportive. It's not every day you come home and ask if it's OK to put an acetylene tank for a torch in the garage.

"I've tried many media over the years, this is the first one that involves a 2600 degree (C) flame."

Featured Artist

Tracy's work can be found for sale at the Columbia Art Museum Gift Shop
Columbia (S.C.) Museum of Art

Why Jewelry?

She said she often thinks about the origins of personal adornment and finds the way different cultures express themselves through body adornment and jewelry to be an endlessly interesting topic.

"Think about it, ever since we've been around, we've been making jewelry. Why? I don't know, but it's something that's common to all cultures. It sets us apart, or makes us part of a group."

"Why did the first person pick up a pretty rock, drill a hole in it with a sharpened bone and string it on a thin piece of leather to make a necklace? That's a huge expenditure of time, materials and energy for something that serves little to no direct purpose for survival."

"It's something deep inside each of us, that's the only way to explain it."

Other Interests

When she's not working on jewelry, you can often find her out in the yard tending to her flowers. She says it's hard at times to decide whether or not to head for her jewelry bench or her potting bench. "It's never an easy decision," she said.

About Us

Tracy resides in Columbia, South Carolina with her husband Steve and their dog Kira.

She works full time as a designer at a newspaper. Steve owns his own advertising and marketing agency, Catalyst

Think-Catalyst.com